XCOM: Enemy Unknown Complete Pack

Just play Enemy Within... once you beat it, look into Long War... Your welcome. You will have the most frustratingly awesome time!

I love this game, it's amazing. I was so enthralled by it that I didn't even consider counting the number of hours I put into it; and still put into it on occasions. I could describe this game as the Dark Souls of turn based tactical strategy games; but that it not full justice or a scope of understanding. Basically, you will lose if you don't know how to play it, and it may take a few tries for some to figure this game out. If it seems unfair, it's because you're not doing something right. Example: Grenades are an amazing tool; did you know you could win a mission without firing a single shot? Just lure a bunch of aliens to specific spots and toss a bunch of grenades in the right locations. There is always a limited number of aliens you will encounter, or the mission will be timed forcing limited kills. The game felt short to me, because I couldn't get enough of it, always another turn, always another mission. You research lots of goodies to fend off alien that seem unbeatable at first. Spend time fretting over having enough money for the next satellite or who's going to leave the XCOM project next month. Then you hit the end of the road with your super soldiers, stomping every mission you face. What's left? A tearjerker ending. Here's a cup to all my squad leaders in that final mission, I won't forget y'all.

+ AAA game. Great graphics. + Highly moddable. + Good (not great) replay value. + Mostly true to its ancestor. + Meaningful expansion on the lore which sets the universe up for a sequel. - Some changes from the original seem unnecessary. E.g. flavor of aliens has changed, and not always for the better. - Tech tree is a little more linear than I'd prefer. E.g. once you get to Plasma, there's no reason to use other weapons. - RNG is not your friend. There is an actual study out there which claims that the rolls are fair, but after missing five 99% shots in a row on multiple occasions, it just doesn't *feel* fair. That extra frustration is very noticable. - A little too "clean." E.g. there are very few loose threads and the lore is a little sparse. Some people may like that, but I enjoy putting on my tinfoil hat and really getting heavy into the lore. - Loading times can be a little on the long side, especially since you'll probably end up reloading (a lot). Overall, I really enjoyed this game, and it was nice to see someone really investing in an XCOM game. I loved the small, independent knockoffs we've seen, but this is the first game that felt like a true sequel to the original XCOM games. Not flawless, but still unique, polished and definitely worth playing.

I watched a streamer playing this with Long War enabled. I was blown away at the depth and gameplay. I bought the game and jumped straight into the mod - I've never actually played the vanilla game, despite over 2000 hours in the modded experience. I can honestly say it is the best strategy gaming experience I ever had. -Multiple victory paths -Challenging AI -Challenging strategy layer choices as well as tactical missions -Progression systems that keep you engaged in the repeated missions, and often changes the strategic objectives of those missions (capturing enemy resources, captives, weapons, or simply gaining experience all require different approaches in both load out, soldier choices, and in mission). -Extremely difficult but also extremely rewarding specialty 1 off mission types. Even now, almost 10 years since the game was produced, the graphics and art style are still pleasant and appropriate. Stylistically it just looks good.

Really classic to play